Prof
Richard Wiseman has examined why people report unusual experiences
in allegedly haunted locations, including work at Hampton Court Palace
and the Edinburgh Vaults. This page provides some background information
on his work.

What is an alleged haunting?
Around 10% of people believe that they have experienced some type
of ghostly phenomena. These experiences include reports of apparitions,
unusual odours, sudden changes in temperature and a sense of presence.
In a small number of cases, witnesses consistently report these experiences
in certain locations, giving rise to the notion that these places
are “haunted”. Some alleged hauntings last many years
and involving large numbers of seemingly trustworthy witnesses. Scientific
research in this area aims to discover why this is the case, including
the possible role played by magnetic fields, infrasound, and various
psychological factors.

Magnetism
Some researchers, such as Professor Michael Persinger (Laurentian
University, Canada), have speculated that changes in geomagnetic fields
could stimulate the brain's temporal lobes, and produce many of the
experiences associated with hauntings. This theory has been tested
by examining the relationship between the onset of unusual phenomena
in allegedly haunted locations and increases in global geomagnetic
activity, investigating whether the location of alleged hauntings
is associated with certain types of magnetic activity, and laboratory
studies in which stimulation of the temporal lobe with transcerebral
magnetic fields has elicited subjective experiences that strongly
parallel phenomena associated with hauntings. All of this work is
controversial and thus has attracted a large amount of debate. Prof
Wiseman and his team have examined the possible role played by naturally
occuring magnetic fields in their research.

Infrasound
Other researchers have suggested that infrasound (very low frequency
sound waves below about 20Hz) might be present in certain allegedly
haunted locations and be responsible for people feeling uneasy. This
idea was first proposed by the late Vic Tandy and Dr. Tony Lawrence
(Coventry University, UK). Two of their papers can be downloaded from
links at the bottom of this page. In 2002, Prof Wiseman teamed up
with engineer and performer Sarah Angliss to test some of these ideas
in an unusual mass participation experiment. This study, called Infrasonic,
is detailed here.

Psychological factorsFinally, some researchers believe that many of the experiences
reported in allegedly haunted locations have a psychological explanation.
For example, witnesses may have had prior knowledge about which parts
of a building were ‘haunted’, and do become anxious when
entering these areas, resulting in mild psychosomatic and hallucinatory
phenomena. Alternatively, certain areas may simply 'look' haunted
(i.e., be especially dark or creepy looking) and again cause people
to feel anxious. Again, these ideas have been examined in Prof Wiseman's
work into alleged hauntings.